Events with tag - Space Research

July 29, 1958

NASA Establishment

President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act, establishing NASA as a civilian space agency in response to the Space Race with the Soviet Union. The agency officially began operations on October 1, 1958.

April 8, 1964

NASA Project Gemini Launch

NASA launched Project Gemini as its second human spaceflight program, conducting 12 missions between 1964-1966. The program served as a crucial bridge between Mercury and Apollo missions, developing essential capabilities for lunar exploration.

May 20, 1964

Discovery of Background Radiation

In 1964, American astronomers Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson made a groundbreaking discovery of cosmic microwave background radiation, which provided crucial evidence supporting the Big Bang theory. For this accidental but extremely significant discovery, they were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1978.

January 5, 1972

NASA Space Shuttle Program Approved

President Richard Nixon officially authorized NASA's Space Shuttle program, marking the beginning of reusable spacecraft era with a $5.5 billion development plan aimed at revolutionizing space transportation.

May 14, 1973

Launch of Skylab

NASA launched Skylab, America's first space station, using a modified Saturn V rocket from Kennedy Space Center. The 169,950-pound orbital workshop marked the beginning of permanent human presence in space.

September 2, 1993

US-Russia Space Station Merger Agreement

Vice President Al Gore and Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin signed a historic agreement to merge their respective space station programs, laying the foundation for the International Space Station (ISS).

November 20, 1998

ISS Zarya Module Launch

The first module of the International Space Station, Zarya, was launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, marking the beginning of humanity's largest space collaboration project.

November 2, 2000

First ISS Permanent Crew Arrival

Expedition 1, consisting of American astronaut William Shepherd and Russian cosmonauts Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev, arrived at the International Space Station, marking the beginning of continuous human presence in space.

November 23, 2020

Chang'e 5 Lunar Mission Launch

China's Chang'e 5 spacecraft launched on a historic lunar sample-return mission, marking the country's first attempt to bring moon rocks back to Earth since the 1970s. The mission successfully collected and returned approximately 2 kg of lunar samples.